Scene #1048:

Owner	Pose
Hannah Steiner	Hannah's /exhausted/ after that last Witch fight, and the whole 'double Sayaka' situation. But she reasons that that Amy has to feel far, far worse. Puella Problems she can take in at a distance, aside from connections /to/ individual Puella. And by the /Sankt/ does she have her own opinions. But even for someone so blunt, she is trained as a diplomat in part, and so she's leaning into that. Thus, a gift for the House of Faust: A little card proclaiming that the Countess-Palatine Hannah Emilia-Lina Araki-Steiner the XIVth requests the attendance of the Scion of House Faust at her dormitory at her earliest convenience. To anyone who's either studied royalty or nobles, or heck probably even delved into fantasy novels? That request is clearly not a request. Which is why should Amy arrive at Hannah's dorm? The young woman is lounging on the couch, a table dragged over for a large spread of the nearest equivalents to Belkan quisine that she could afford to get delivered. Hopefully Amy is a fan of smoked meats, among other things. There's even bread, if she's considering a sandwhich of sorts! Hannah is radiating love, and perhaps, royal 'I'm So Brilliant' of a job well done. She's swaddled in the big ol' robe with her House's crest on it, and Lyra is handling first door opening, then becoming an extra couch cushion!
Amy Faust	Damn that Witch! Amy really wanted to spend time with Hannah, but now Hannah's exhausted. And to think she was chiding ''Amy's'' endurance earlier! Then again, maybe Amy's just still energetic because she just refilled her soul gem? Who knows. It's true though, that the rush of adrenaline and fighting for their lives, has pushed what she was dealing with out of her mind. And with a clearer head, she can suspect the pattern, remember Nurse Meiou told her to use an app for that, check it, confirm it, and... be ready. The constant reminders that she was once one thing and now another will never stop... Or is that just the lens she's looking through? Friday is a normal school day, aside from expected and prepared-for annoyances, and it's the end of the school week! She's not sure just ''what'' she's going to do this afternoon, but before she can decide on anything, Amy returns to her dorm after classes to find a note slid under her door. Amy is ''aware'' of those tropes, but also it's Hannah. This could be Hannah's way of inviting her to a date or something. Although, it's at her dorm room. The yukata might be overkill, but she doesn't want to just go in a t-shirt and slacks either. Or her school uniform. Gods, she needs to figure out girl clothing. She can dimly picture a nicer outfit that might be good from what she's seen others wearing -- Her hair back in a ponytail with say, a cream cardigan over a dark-hued shirt and black or dark grey skirt with dark... tights, or stockings? And shoes she doesn't know the name of. She tries magic, but it won't cooperate. It doesn't seem to do semi-formal, or this kind of dressy anyway, she doesn't know the logic! She shows up in the same red pullover from yesterday and a matching skirt. And sees... Hannah lounging for snack time, apparently! She walks in. "Hannah? What was with the formal invitation?" Amy ''absolutely'' will nibble some smoked meats. The bread is extra calories, though if it's some fancy kind she hasn't had before she might fold a piece in half to make a small sandwich. She's soon sitting between Hannah, whose robe looks suspiciously like it is meant to also wrap around Amy, which she would ''not at all'' be averse to, and Lyra, who is big and as pleasantly warm and fluffy as always! And apparently well-behaved enough to not just be stealing all the food like a normal dog would in this situation. Amy is content to have a relaxing moment of leaning against Hannah and just... enjoying this feeling. Although... "I need to tell you some stuff. And I guess you probably heard some things yesterday I didn't explain. Do you... wanna talk about it?"
Hannah Steiner	The bread, as it turns out, is closer to a french bread as it turns out! Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, perfect for piling on condiments and toppings and really just about anything else one wants. Which Hannah is dutifully making for herself even as she leans back, somehow some of that over-stuffed robe finding its' way snuggled behind the Puella even as Lyra is doing pin-point comfy snuggles with both her owner and Amy! She pauses, and grins! This grin is almost a smirk! "Come now, mein liebling, such a question! A potential future Royal of Tharkad must know the ins and outs of royal protocal if she wishes to survive Court, nevermind sit at the Countess-Palatine's side! I'm sorry. But mein ultimate duty is ever to mein People und the Throne. Should mein tests ever seem cruel? Nein. I am merely doing what I must, as mein station requires." She briefly sounds honestly apologetic, for about half a second, and then laughs! "Und mein Faustian engel, you have passed!" She seems /overjoyed/! "Now stuff that beautiful face of yours!" Insists Hannah! Welp, it's Amy that brings up the Witch in the room! There's silence. Then she chomps her sandwhich, chews, and rubs a shoulder to shoulder. "I think YOU are the one that needs to talk. Speak, Amy-chan, please. A Steiner should hear all before passing any Judgement." Comes Hannah formally...but it's broken up with concern for Amy most of all.
Amy Faust	Ohhh it's not just any old sliced bread, it's crusty-on-the-outside fluffy-soft-on-the-inside bread! Even better with a bit of melted butter or something, but even without, a joy to eat! Amy takes a few pieces and probably ends up with an unfinished piece when her stomach lets her know she's had plenty. Anyway... A future royal! Amanda can't help blushing a bit at being considered for such... it does kind of push aside the things she wanted to talk about, but... she's up for learning! Although she does look a bit nervous at the mention of possible cruelty... And then the test she was preparing to focus on turns out to be one she was unknowingly taking, and passed! Relieved, she's able to snuggle close while enjoying her snacks... but eventually, it's time for talk. Nodding at the assessment that she should speak first, she mentally orders the things she's been meaning to talk to Hannah about for months but somehow never gets a good time. She feels a bit silly to declare something so obvious seriously, but it's ''important'', damn it. And goes back to their earliest talks, when she told Hannah ''everything'' and was still accepted. The small redhead takes a breath, and glances at and then away from the taller blonde's face a few times before deciding to say this with eye contact: "I-I've known for months, but... I don't want to be your boyfriend. ...I-I'm pretty sure, I figured it out um... gosh, when Cho got turned into a giant monkey monster. A-around then. Y-you were right, to go with t-treating me like a girlfriend. Thank you for that." She continues. "And uhh. A bit later. Although I guess it kind of obviously follows from the first. I think I might be a, a..." She shakes her head a little, covering the doubts as best she can with mock certainty, "I ''am'' a girl." She finally looks away awkwardly. "I-I guess maybe you knew from the start, but. From in here it wasn't so obvious."
Hannah Steiner	Color Hannah taken entirely off guard! It seems that the young woman's mind is on far, far, more recent things, and yet the throughline all but fishhooks her in the side with its' obviousness! At first? Well, for wont of anything for jaw to do but crash downwards, she's instead mauling her second sandwhich with artful /CHOMPS/ of perfect teeth. Watching her gnash down the spiced sausage heaven is about like she's engaging in a Duel! ...Only with food. Alright, maybe she's added some Korma sauces in on that thing, face extra-red from her favorite fiery fury sauce! Swallow! Thankfully any anime fire-sources are directed /away/ from anything flammable! "Sankt's own blood, mein liebling! I was gambling on the answer, und a Steiner does not gamble without at least odds tipped in their favor! From the moment I heard your voice, mein heart resonated with you!" But then she softens. "But nein should one ever /impose/ such a thing. On Tharkad...acht." A sigh. "...I shouldn't speak more, lest the good Enforcer have more troubles, the Mid-Childan heathen!" It's said, with a strange fondness and yet amusement! All that royal clout drops onto the floor with a thunk, metaphysically. "I had a firm feeling. But what /you/ feel und know is what matters." Comes the Steiner Royal resolutely.
Amy Faust	''From the moment I heard your voice...'' Amy's cheeks redden a bit and she smiles. Although... "What's Chrono have to do with it?" She nods, smiling, at the assertion that her own feelings are the deciding factor. "Yeah..." She rubs the back of her head, "I dunno, my feelings are confusing and mixed-up sometimes. I'm the only one like me -- the only magical girl I mean -- and like, everywhere I look there's, my life is filled with reminders." She slumps a bit. "Speaking of ''feelings confusing'', that time of the month just started and like, ''there's'' gonna be a repeated reminder the next few days that this is still like, weird and new and not something I've been doing for years like everyone else. Well, the girls, I mean. Thank goodness for Nurse Meiou, my education in the uh, ''practical'' side of things was sorely lacking!" And then she realizes something and covers her face with her hands. "Oh my god, she was my ''kouhai'' on the staff here and she had to explain that, and now she ''knows'' about me! Ugh..." She drops her hands back down. "I don't even know how to properly talk about that with other girls! It's like I ''missed'' that class and there's no make-ups! So now I just don't know! S-sorry if it was weird to bring up, just..." She gestures vaguely with her hand in the air by her head. "It was topical! To the whole, ''thing''." She gives a little sigh and leans against the back of the couch more. "A-anyway, there's probably other things you wanted to know about..." Her right hand strays to worry at her soul gem pendant through the pullover.
Hannah Steiner	Amy's initial question is countered with her leaning her head back, and giving the closest thing to an apathetic shrug that a Belkan can possibly conjure! ...Well maybe unless you're one of the more well adjusted ones like Shamal, but this isn't the season for that! "Acht. I say this with nothing but love, mein liebling, but that is the second obvious question you have asked me this night! Consider what I have told you, what mein values are, then find the answer. Take your time given the tiny dirtball you have been borne on. But I expect the correct answer." Hannah's attention is properly then settled on Amy, her mouth in a smile that is confident. There's no royal menace. She believes in Amy Faust, an so, she offers no more clues to yet another test given in the same night. All that royal poise breaks though! Sankt and all the Unbroken Blades, she howls out with laughter, honestly happy for the tension shattering like glass! "I...need...air!" When she finally calms down? She pulls Amy into a hug. "You have the honored frau Setsuna Meiou in your corner. Und if you need /personal/ experience? Come now." She makes a point to flick at Amy's nose! A raised brow says everything! Her mood drops, and yet, she clings close. So does Lyra, the pair working in unison to physically reinforce that both of them are /here/! "That little fairy strikes me as the honest, earnest sort. Get out with it mein engel. Again, you first." The ball's in Amy's court, but it's not like Hannah hasn't been skeptical of Kyuubey in the past. Her lips are oddly /straight/, which isn't a good sign after the last Witch fight.
Amy Faust	Amy can only give a blank stare. She cannot imagine what Hannah was going to say about things on her homeworld that could ''possibly'' cause any sort of trouble for Chrono. It's forgotten, though, as she rambles about how she can never escape thinking about her situation and sidetracks herself with... 'girl talk'. Amy is confused at the laughter, but then she's pulled into a hug. The feeling of Hannah's arms holding her close reinforces that everything will be alright, that she's safe here, and loved. The nose flick pulls her out of her thoughts, and she looks away awkwardly. "Y-yeah..." she mutters, "we can swap stories later..." She feels surrounded and buoyed by safety. There might be anger at Kyubey, but Hannah could not possibly end up mad at ''her''. Amy leans against Hannah and closes her eyes for a moment, takes a breath, and then sits up straight again, her soul gem appearing in egg form in her palm as she holds her right hand just in front of her chest. Her eyes stare into the pure, deep red held in its gold setting. Well, probably some magical material and not actual gold. She's certainly not going to whack it with a hammer to test the setting's ductility, though! "I never did get around to asking Kyubey if he'd trade you the technology, though I'd be surprised if it's possible. This is far more... I didn't get a good chance to talk to him when something more pressing wasn't going on, and then I found out the truth... ''we'' found out the truth. This isn't just an artificial Linker Core." "...It's me." She plows onward with the explanation with whatever words pop into her head. Into her gem? Whatever. "I'm remote-controlling this meat puppet at a range of up to about a hundred meters. If I got separated from it further away, it would fall over as if in a coma until I was brought back in range again. A Witch can do anything to this body that would kill a human. With magic, I can control it even if vital functions are failing... Although, doing that, or even just shutting off the transmission of pain, introduces some lag... but it's not like I'm unfamiliar with the idea of laggy controls." Those red eyes continue to stare into the red gem. Wondering just where in that gem is the thing that Amy is? "Magic can regenerate our wounds. Even mortal wounds or massive damage can be regenerated, with enough magic. As long as I can kill the Witch and take its grief seed, I'll be able to recover from damage that would kill any other Magical Girl." She closes her eyes and smiles wryly. "We really are Witch-hunting machines." "In plainer language that you'll surely hear from the others... the secret was hidden in the name all along. The soul gems are our souls." She opens her eyes and turns her head to look up at Hannah, concerned to see how she'll take this news.
Hannah Steiner	The more Hannah listens, the less she likes it. The normally gregarious magical girl opens her mouth several times, only for her jaw to then threaten to either fall open...or for her to just clamp it shut with an audible clack of perfect space german teeth. There's very little talk, but her face says quite a bit. Concern slowly bleeds into shock as the full extent of Kyubey's work on the Puella of Tokyo - and most importantly of /Amy Faust/ - slowly becomes clear. It's not modifications to her body. Cybernetics are hardly unknown in the TSAB or House Steiner. No, it's at first the sting of the purpose built nature alongside the knowledge that a Puella has to watch their magic levels. Ones that come from grief seeds, which they're designed to kill, and yet also are reliant upon. Like any good merchant, she can see the cycle. It's something that she'd be having severe words with the pink rodent, but not necessarily an utter deal breaker depending on the answers, if any. No, it's the obvious thing that makes her heart at first go ice cold, then hot as a brand. With strange slowness, she approaches her desk, and then with that same flat lined expression, kicks it hard enough that the heavy Space Desk belonging to a TSAB Admiral originally actually shifts. The resulting belkan invective and inevitable foot-calming from that new bruise she just gave herself? Well even she knows that was what would happen. Luckily, there's no breakage. Then Hannah turns around, with a smile that is in no way in her eyes. So her lashing out might undercut her rage a bit, but the fact she isn't yelling about it may be....worrying. "I am going to strangle that Sankt Kaiserless little Heathen with mein own two hands for his blasphemy of tinkering with one's soul!" Hannah is trembling. All her mind can latch onto is that word, 'soul', and someone so steeped in the Sankt Church's teachings - nevermind a Great House ruler-apparent and one more zealous than most - is bound to cause a reaction. "How dare he deign to play Holy Monarch!? Und for what reason!? It is one thing to crush blasphemies such as a Witch, but if he wishes to retain a working spine he had best have an excellent reason for going that far!" Okay, that's a lot more volume, she's sounding a little more like Hannah. If still tapping into the kind of emotions that are usually reserved for one Count Otto.
Amy Faust	Hannah looks like she's not taking it well, but she's at least letting Amy finish her explanation. As Hannah stands and walks away, Amy switches her soul gem to ring form. She winces at the kick. "Hannah..." > I am going to strangle that Sankt Kaiserless little Heathen with mein own two hands for his blasphemy of tinkering with one's soul! Amy cocks her head to one side, sadly. After her girlfriend finishes speaking, Amy notes, "Hannah, this has probably already saved me from death at least once. When we were helping Coco... Nezha blew open my guts. He gave me some divine magic pill that healed me after, but that I even survived long enough to ''get'' healed... It has to have been this. It was definitely this. I noticed the lag, just like Kyubey described." Amy takes a breath, looking concerned. "This was always the plan, Hannah. I was just ''surviving,'' hoping I could see the day when I could escape that body and either get downloaded into another one or live in some kind of VR world in a computer. I didn't expect it to happen ''this'' way, but... remember, what Kyubey did..." she looks away, "...gave me this body. Without it, we'd never have met." Amy wrings her hands nervously. "I was using terms like 'meat puppet' to drive the point home, but I really don't see that way. I ''did'', with my old body, but ironically," she holds a hand to the center of her chest and splays her fingers across it, as she looks at Hannah again, "this feels more like ''me'', even if I'm technically remote-controlling it, than my old body ever did. Sayaka is taking it hard and some of the other girls are upset -- not Mami -- but..." Amy sighs. "I'm fine. Really."
Hannah Steiner	If anything, the fact Kyubey's 'gifts' have saved Amy's life and given her who she always has been? Just makes the spike of theological and moral outrage she's grappling with all the harder to swallow. Her instincts as a businesswoman, a merchant, is just /searching/ for a raw deal in all of it, that her spiritual side is insisting is there but her rational mind just can't sus out. A hand grips the side of her head, which is suffering from an apocalyptic headache to go along with her now throbbing foot, and tumultuous thoughts. She desperately tries to reign in her rage, if only for Amy's sake. She stumbles, more from emotional exhaustion than physical pain, and one arm seeks Amy for her sheer proximity. Squeeze. She needs to be close to Amy right now. "I know that! I know! I...Sankt, I just...mein liebling, I have lived in a world where every deal must be scrutinized for someone willing to use it just so that they may make a political blow in Court, or the boardroom! Where every new miracle is another line item on a budget, used indeed for the greater good of our prole charges, but by the Sankt the nobility shall happily use it for or against the Crown as their needs dictate that they might jockey amongst themselves!" Teeth grit, and a hand runs through Amy's hair affectionately. "I'm glad what he has done is a boon to you, mein liebling. You deserve this body of yours. Ja, it is you. But with frau Miki split in twain, surely she stands as proof that not all 'deals' work out quite so well." A deep, sucking breath. "There are some lines one does not cross. Soul tampering is one of them. Is Kyubey some sort of divinity? Has he ever made his purpose plain?" A sigh, and a shake of her head. Bop! Right atop the head! "Putting mein worries aside, that sounded like the sigh of someone whom is in nein ways fine. Speak, liebling. Your soul, your body, your concerns are paramount." Arms finally cross. There's that blind glare of hers!
Amy Faust	Amy looks worried, afraid that this could drive a rift between them. She's tense when Hannah puts an arm around her... and Hannah can feel her relax, relieved as she acknowledges this has been good for Amy. The redhead leans against Hannah, pressing the top of her head against the taller girl as that hand runs through her hair. She jumps at the bap. "...I understand that while it worked out ''for me'', these changes were ''not'' in the terms of the deal and were done without my consent, and that's messed up; although I don't want it reversed, others might. Probably over some sort of concern for souls, although I don't really get ''why''. Whether my body is the flesh or the gem, once it's dead my soul moves on, right? To be reincarnated, apparently ''that's'' a thing, according to Sailor Moon." Amy looks up at Hannah. "I really don't get why some people think it's some grave sin, to move souls out of the bodies they're born with. Like, people see souls as a matter of religion and God, perhaps, but do any holy scriptures actually specifically prohibit this? Actually, in light of world events it kind of sounds awfully like how people get all upset at someone moving up in social class, or getting treatment they think only ''they'' deserve." She slumps and looks away. "...Or even simply taking control of their own body, which particularly backwards folks talk about as being similarly divinely inviolate. In any case, I hope that mankind ''does'' figure out soul manipulation one day. A whole lot of people need it. And if there exists a god that has a problem with people curing the suffering that a creator inflicted on them..." Amy smiles as she clenches a fist and looks back up at Hannah. "Then I'll talk to Cho and Wuwu and find out how to go to Heaven and kick Their ass myself." "As for me... I'll be okay, on this. I just dunno how to like, navigate others' feelings on the issue, whether to avoid offense, or to help those it's eating up inside, like Klarissa or possibly the other Puella Magi besides Mami. I talked to Klarissa this morning, and nothing I said seemed to get through to her at all. I hope she just needs space, but I'm worried for her..."
Hannah Steiner	'Mollified' isn't the right world, but Hannah seems to manage to quell her zealous nature just slightly as Amy acknowledges the messy truth that seems to linger like a bad odor around Puella Magi, at least to Hannah's increasing conviction. She raises her arms wide. "Nein, I cannot speak for the scriptures of this world. Only mein own, und that of many other planets. Were it a mere case of casting one's own soul, by one's own choice into another vessel with consent or a mere construct without another within? Such would be a blessed thing. Und in the days of mein Ancestors? No doubt such things were possible, but lost in the downfall of the Old Kings und their Great Houses." Comes Hannah, her voice falling to reverence as well as what can only be described as loss and /shame/! She sits down, and hands grip, threatening to dig into her own flesh. "...But you, mein liebling, did not remove your own soul. Kyubey did." A shake of the head. "Note humanity gained such abilities. Just exactly how long do you think it would take before a leader ordered the creation of a rifle that shot an 'undesireable's soul as ammunition. Before a Countess-Palatine of lacking morality und venal ambition decided a world is ripe for the taking und full of living bullets enough to snuff out a rival's very sun." Another shrug. "Just something to think about." A few steps forward, and she hugs tightly, as though the matter were tabled for now. That flash of a clenched fist though clearly makes her feel better! "Und I shall be right there beside you! I have always wanted to trade blows with a deity after all!" Comes the young woman, vaguely restored to her former vigor with that Belkan ambition burning bright, and not in the old toxic way she's just revealed! Sigh. Ahh, Klarissa and Sayaka. She hasn't met the former in person, but she knows the latter. "Mmm. I am inclined to send frau Klarissa to our dear Guidance Counselor. She has experience in such things. So much as mein usual tactic of riling up someone until we do proper Belkan Dueling about it, or history lessons for introspection are most effective...acht, I fear neither may be the right method..." She slumps a bit. Yeah, she's just as lost as you are, Amy!
Amy Faust	> Und in the days of mein Ancestors? No doubt such things were possible, "Wait, ''what?''" > Just exactly how long do you think it would take before a leader ordered the creation of a rifle that shot an 'undesireable's soul as ammunition. "...Why would you do that. Is there any reason to believe souls are effective kinetic projectiles?" > ...enough to snuff out a rival's very sun. ''Better not bring up dyson spheres and starlifting, then...'' > Und I shall be right there beside you! I have always wanted to trade blows with a deity after all! ''There's'' the Hannah Amy knows! She smiles brightly. > We should send Klarissa to Inai-sensei. Amy's face falls and she shakes her head. "She already did. It doesn't seem to have helped, I talked to her -- Klarissa I mean -- this morning. ''( ED: School is, apparently, still out, so the bit in the earlier pose about a normal school day should be replaced with allusions to the events of Scene #1051 )'' Amy shakes her head. "I don't know what to do. I told her about how I'd seen people who don't understand themselves get all twisted up, but... it didn't help. I'm giving her some space for at least a few days, I guess." "...She did notice something, though." Amy lifts her left hand in front of her, and turns it over to show the underside of the soul gem ring. "Have you ever seen an alphabet like this? I mean, it ''could'' be some magic space runes for all I know." Beat. Amy facepalms (with the non-ring hand.) "I'm so sorry, it's easy to forget... I mean not even ''forget'' really, just... not be thinking about it... still, Blauer Grief could scan it, or... they're engraved, so maybe you could feel it?" Beat. "...On the ring. Opposite the gem. Gods, I'm sorry." Her face is so red under her hand.
Hannah Steiner	Hannah very quickly proceeds to answer questions! Or at least the one that sticks out, anyway. "Again, greed, mostly. Also an utter lack of ethics und not seeing said would-be living ammunitions' persons....as people. Why else do humans of /any/ planet commit atrocities? It's an analogy mein liebling, for effect! Also frankly we both do not understanden the technology mainly because such surviving records were destroyed in order to ensure no fool raises them again." Her mind easily shifts to those cursed rifles that Obsidian has been rumored to be using. But before any theology or other methods of making her brows twitch come up, the more practical considerations draw her back into safer territory. Though her worry doesn't exactly abate, indeed increased! "....That bad...? Sankt keep us all." She sounds genuinely worried. As someone who holds Kyouka's skill in her role both magical and mundane in high regard, those words slash straight into her heart. No one can solve all problems of course, but for it to not even make a dent? "Yes, that seems to be a good idea. Acht. ....Mein liebling, while I know people well, a politician's training is not exactly /condusive/ to that particular problem. Swords, boardrooms, und ballrooms is one thing..." But the heart of someone cleaved from another and in a magical system she only has the vaguest grasp on? Well, if /Amy/ is out of her depth too as a fellow Puella, that's not marking the whole situation down as anything good. Worry seems to actively compound on her face. But dangling something new in front of her is a good way to distract her, if nothing else. She waves away Amy's distress over forgetting her lack of eyesight, and simply holds up Blauer Greif for a Focused Area Search. It takes longer than usual, as well as several scans in succession. Hannah scrunched face probably tells the answer far before she actually speaks it. "Nothing. Every databank ran through, then again for similarities and potential linguistic drift over spans of time....nothing. Und she has been in the hands of rulers that recorded languages long dead to modern galactic times." Comes the depressing, if perhaps expected response. A hand finds a hip, and pulls Amy in. Smooch! Squeeeeze! "Mein apologies, beloved. Come. Let us at least enjoy ourselves a little tonight. These troubles may well be out of our hands." Her head leans against Amy's shoulder, basking in her presence, and trying to not think too hard about what she can't fix.